"Come with me," the head samurai of the Daimyo's army said. He had a no-nonsense face and a very strict look. He did not smile or show any warmth as he spoke to both teams.
The head samurai turned and started walking without waiting to see if they would follow. The Konoha and Iwa shinobi exchanged quick glances before falling in line behind him.
The samurai took them to their training grounds. Dozens of samurai trainers as well as new samurai were training or sparring against each other.
Some practiced sword swings against wooden posts while others moved in pairs with real blades clashing loudly. The sound of metal hitting metal filled the air along with shouts of instruction from senior trainers.
"It would be a test of your skills," the samurai said. "You will be sparring with everyone from our training groups one by one. Each of you six would go at the same time. The genin that is standing last would win. But we would be considering the performance of each member of your team to make our final decision." The head samurai explained the rules clearly so there would be no confusion.
The Iwa genins grinned at the test as they were confident in their fighting skills. They whispered among themselves about how easy it would be to defeat the samurai.
"But you are not allowed to use ninjutsu, genjutsu, fuinjutsu or poisons," the head samurai said firmly.
"What?" One of the Iwa genins shouted back in surprise. His face turned red with frustration as he stepped forward. "But we are shinobi. We are supposed to be using these things or what is the point of being a shinobi." He argued that taking away their main abilities made the test unfair. The other Iwa genins nodded in agreement and muttered complaints under their breath.
"It is our test and thus our rules," the head samurai replied without any change in his strict expression. "If you cannot do it just say so. We will let the Daimyo know about your decision." His voice left no room for argument.
The Iwa genin quietened down after that. They realized arguing would only make them look weak in front of everyone. They nodded reluctantly and prepared themselves for the fight with what they had left.
Shunsui thought, 'Was Shikaku san wrong about it being a test of whether we can work together with samurai? How are they going to test it if rather than working together they want us to fight them. Hmm, there should be something hidden in the test. As future Kakashi would say look underneath the underneath. But this would mean that I cannot rely on my Shikai in my fight. Just kenjutsu, taijutsu and my chakra.'
"Let's start with it. All six of you take positions in one of the sparring arenas," the samurai said as the six genins did the same. Each fighter had enough space to move freely without interfering with others.
The only one excited about the fight was Guy. No ninjutsu or genjutsu did not really matter to him as he did not use them anyways. Guy smiled widely and cracked his knuckles in anticipation. He loved a good physical challenge and this felt perfect for him.
Samurai trainees came to face each of them in their armor and swords. Shunsui looked at his partner and bowed, surprising the samurai who too bowed in return.
Shunsui took out his swords in their normal form.
The trainee was surprised to see the swords. "A dual swordsman? Very rare for a shinobi since they prefer their hands free to use ninjutsu," the trainee said with genuine interest in his voice. He adjusted his grip on his own sword and studied Shunsui's stance carefully.
"My swords are all I need," Shunsui said with a smile as he tossed his straw hat which spun and landed perfectly on a nearby pole. "Now let's start shall we." He said it in a calm and friendly way even though a fight was about to begin.
The trainee went straight at him raising his sword high. Shunsui blocked it using one sword and then attacked him with his other sword in a smooth motion.
The trainee immediately put chakra into his feet and used a backwards flash step to dodge the attack. It was a quick and precise movement that almost looked like teleportation.
Shunsui was surprised at the backwards movement. 'Well it seems that I will not have to ask the samurai to teach me flash step after all. I am getting free training with this test,' he thought happily.
He decided to be the aggressor this time. Shunsui moved forward quickly and attacked with both swords in a series of fast strikes. The trainee was prepared for both attacks but he was not prepared for Shunsui to enhance his attack with chakra reinforcement.
The powerful blow made the trainee release his sword and bend backward from the force. Shunsui placed the tip of one sword gently at the trainee's throat.
"Good match," Shunsui said as he put his swords back into the scabbard. He helped the trainee up and gave him a respectful nod. He then looked at the other trainees and said, "Next."
---
Guy was having the time of his life as he fought the samurai. He did not want to fight samurai who had swords barehanded so he was using his favored weapon, nunchaku.
The nunchaku spun rapidly in his hands as he faced his opponent with a big enthusiastic grin. The samurai trainee swung his sword in a powerful overhead strike. Guy dodged to the side and countered with a fast swing of his nunchaku that connected with the samurai's armored side. The impact made a loud thud sound and pushed the trainee back a few steps.
The samurai tried to use his sword for a horizontal slash but Guy jumped over it and landed a solid hit on the man's shoulder.
The armor absorbed some of the force but the trainee still winced from the power behind the blow. Guy kept moving constantly, his legs pumping with energy as he circled his opponent looking for openings.
The samurai trainee used his flash step to create distance and then charged forward with a thrust. Guy twisted his body at the last moment and wrapped his nunchaku around the blade, yanking it to the side.
With the sword momentarily trapped, Guy delivered a series of quick punches to the armored chest.
The samurai grunted and tried to pull his weapon free but Guy's grip was too strong. With one final powerful swing of his free nunchaku, Guy knocked the trainee off balance and sent him tumbling to the ground.
Guy stood over his opponent breathing heavily but smiling widely. "That was a great fight. You are very skilled with your blade. I hope we can train together more after this mission."
The samurai trainee got up slowly and bowed to Guy, acknowledging the young shinobi's impressive skills. Guy bowed back deeply.
-----
Genma was doing his best to stay in the fight. Without his poison he was not that threatening but thankfully he had other skills to rely on.
He used his senbons with chakra reinforcement to hit the samurai at places which were non lethal and not covered by armor. The thin needles flew through the air and struck at joints and gaps in the armor.
One senbon hit the trainee's wrist causing him to loosen his grip for a moment. Genma followed up with more needles aimed at the legs to slow down the samurai's movements.
The samurai tried to close the distance suddenly but Genma anticipated it and threw a handful of reinforced senbons that forced the trainee to block and retreat.
A final set of well-placed senbons hit the samurai's knee and shoulder, making the trainee drop to one knee and concede the match. Genma lowered his hands and took a deep breath, satisfied that he had held his own even without his usual tools.
------Author Notes---------
Would appreciate power stones if you can spare any. Thankyou
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